麦肯锡 -重塑渠道：合作伙伴生态如何助推人工智能业务增长 Reinventing the channel How can your partner ecosystem fuel AI growth

November2026

McKinsey

&Company

Technology,Media&TelecommunicationsPractice

Reinventingthechannel:Howcanyourpartner

ecosystemfuelAIgrowth?

Alpresentsanopportunityfortechnologyvendorstoreinventtheirsaleschannels.Thiscomprehensiveoverhaulwouldrequirefivekeymoves.

byBarathramAnanthakrishnanandJeremySchneider

withNityaSamuelandPranitaSadavarte

Asmuchasartificialintelligenceisfundamentallyreinventingwhichtechnologyproductsandservicesenterprisespurchase,itisalsodramaticallyshiftinghowtechnologyvendorsselltheir

offerings.Mostsoftwareandtechproviders’customer-facingfunctions,suchasdirectsalesandcustomersupport,havebeguntoadapttothistransformativetechnology,butonekeyareahasbeennotablyslowtomakethenecessaryadjustments:thepartnershipchannel,whichcontinuestoleverageatraditionalsoftware-as-a-service(SaaS)playbooktosellAIproductsandisoften

oneofthelastfunctionstoundergoanAI-enabledoperationaltransformation.

Saleschannelpartnersplayacriticalroleforleadingsoftwareandtechnologyvendors,drivingaround60percentofrevenuesonaverage.1Yet,twooutofthreetechnologyvendorsreport

gapsinchannelcapabilities,withthetopquartileofproviders,basedonpartnermanagementcapability,outperformingthemediantwofold.2ThisgapbecomesevenmorecriticaltoaddressamidtheAIboom,assoftwareandtechchannelleadersaregrapplingwithhowthetechnologyisreshapingthebusinessexternallyandinternally:

—Externally,thetraditionaltransactionalchannelapproachisn’twell-suitedtotheshiftfrompredictableSaaSrevenuetoconsumption-andoutcome-basedmodelsthattiegrowthtousageandmeasurableimpactinsteadofup-frontbookings.Theadvantageismovingfrombroadreachtotargetedexpertise,withpartnersevolvingfromresellerstoco-architects,asAIsolutionsrequiredeeperintegrationwithcustomerdata,workflows,andcompliance

environments.

—Internally,AIoffersapowerfulopportunitytotransformchanneloperations.Automationandpredictiveinsightscandriveaccelerationaswellasefficiency—shorteningsalescycles,

sharpeningpartnerinvestmentdecisions,andimprovingROI.

SoftwareandtechprovidersdeterminedtomaximizethefullpotentialofAIcanhelptorebuildthechannelforthisnewera,butitwillrequiredecisive,complexactions.Thisarticle,basedon

interviewswithindustryleadersandourexperienceinthemarket,laysoutthosecriticalchannelmovesacrossfivebroadareas.3

FivechannelmovestocapturetheAIopportunity

AdaptingthetechsaleschannelsuccessfullytoAIisacomplexundertakingthatrequiresavarietyofchanges,fromnewtypesofpartnersandwaystheyworkwithcustomers,tonewcompensationmodelsandcapabilities.

ReassessyourpartnermaparoundarchetypesmostrelevantforAIgrowth

Traditionalpartnermodelswerebuiltfordistributionatscale,oftenorganizingthousandsof

resellers,systemintegrators,andindependentsoftwarevendorsbytier.AIrequiresadifferentapproach.Enterprisecustomersincreasinglyneedspecializedpartnerswiththetechnicalanddomainexpertisetoshapearchitecture,integratesolutions,growadoption,anddeliver

1McKinseyHighTechChannelSurvey,2026,n=1,200.

2McKinseyHighTechChannelSurvey,2026,n=1,200.

3ExpertinterviewswereconductedwithAIsolutiondecision-makers,coveringabroadspectrumofinternationalenterprisesrangingfromlargeenterprises(morethan$10billioninrevenue)tomidsizeplayers(with$5billionto$10billioninrevenue).

Reinventingthechannel:HowcanyourpartnerecosystemfuelAIgrowth?2

measurableoutcomes.Infact,aroundhalfofenterprisesareworkingwithpartnerstodesigntheirAIandagenticarchitectures.4

Fourbroadpartnerarchetypesaregainingimportance,alignedtohowAIsolutionsarebuilt,deployed,andscaled(exhibit):

Exhibit

—CoreAIstackprovidersprovidethefoundationforAIperformance,scalability,andtrust.Thisincludesfoundationmodelandinfrastructureproviders(suchasOpenAI,Anthropic,and

NVIDIA)thatsupplycoremodelsandcompute,aswellasdata,governance,andresponsible

4McKinseyAgenticAIVoiceofCustomerSurvey,2026,n=50.

Reinventingthechannel:HowcanyourpartnerecosystemfuelAIgrowth?3

Reinventingthechannel:HowcanyourpartnerecosystemfuelAIgrowth?4

AIpartners(forexample,CredoAIandFiddler)thatsupporttesting,observability,andriskmanagement.

—PlatformsandapplicationleadersdeterminewhereAIisembeddedandhowitisintegratedintoenterpriseworkflowsanddecisionsystems.Thisincludesenterpriseworkflowand

decisionplatforms(forexample,Palantir,Salesforce,ServiceNow,andWorkday),domain-specificplatforms,andemergingagentspecialists(suchasSierraandUiPath)that

operationalizeAIwithinbusinessprocessesandspecificusecases.

—DeliveryandscalepartnerstranslateAIsolutionsintodeployed,scaledenterpriseofferings.

Systemintegrators(forexample,AccentureandGlobalLogic)supportintegrationand

customization,whilemarketplaces(forexample,AWSMarketplaceandMicrosoft

Marketplace)andevolvingsolutionproviders(forinstance,CDWandSHI)areincreasinglyexploringwaystopackageanddeliverAIsolutionstocustomers.

—Ecosystemenablersandinfluencersshapedemand,technologychoices,andthepaceofAIadoption,evenwhentheyarenottraditionalchannelpartners.Strategicadvisershelp

organizationsdefineAIprioritiesandarchitecturechoices,whileprivateequityandventurecapitalfirmscaninfluencetechnologydecisionsandaccelerateadoptionacrosstheir

portfolios.

Theimplicationforchannelleadersisashiftfrombroadpartnercoveragetowardmoretargetedorchestration,matchingpartnerstotherolesandstagesoftheAIlifecyclewheretheycan

createthemostvalue.Together,thesedynamicsmarkadecisiveshifttoprecisionpartneringasthefoundationforenterpriseadoptionandmeasurableoutcomes.

Embedpartnersacrossthefullcustomerlifecycle,fromcodesignthroughexpansion

Traditionalpartnerengagementoftenseemedlikearelayrace:Vendorsarehandedoffto

partnersatthepointofsale,andpartnersarehandedofftocustomersatdeployment.ThatconstructcannotsupportAIsales,wherethecomplexityofintegrationandtheconsumption-basedeconomicsdemandcontinuouspartnerinvolvement,fromtheproofofconcept(POC)stagetoscalingadoption.

Thenewmotionisabarbell,withpartnersdeeplyembeddedatbothendsofthecustomerlifecycle:

—Ononeend,partnersaregaugingusagedemandandleadingproduction-levelPOCs.Morethanhalfoflarge-scaleAIprojectsnowrelyonpartner-ledPOCstoestablishtechnical

credibilityandsecuretheexecutivebuy-inthatiskeytoscalingprojects,accordingto

McKinseyresearch.AWShasalsomovedtoextendthismodelthroughpartners,launchingitsGenerativeAIPartnerInnovationAllianceaftermorethan50percentofPOCsdevelopedthroughitsGenerativeAIInnovationCentermovedintoproduction.5

—Ontheotherend,partnersarestayingengagedduringpostdeploymenttopropeladoptionandusage,andtoidentifynewusecasesthatfuelexpansion.Severalpartnerprograms

5AaronRaj,“AWSunveilsGenerativeAIPartnerInnovationAlliance,”CRNAsia,November4,2024.

Reinventingthechannel:HowcanyourpartnerecosystemfuelAIgrowth?5

nowtieongoingcompensationtocustomeradoption,consumptiongrowth,andland-and-expandoutcomes,ratherthantojustone-timebookings.Forexample,Microsoft’sFY27

partnerincentivesrewardAzureconsumptiongrowththroughtieredincentives,withhigherratesforstrategicworkloads,includingAI-relatedservicessuchasMicrosoftFoundry.6

OnepracticalimplicationofthisshiftisthatvendorsneedtopackageAIaroundindustry-specificdata,workflows,usecases,andcompliancesopartnerscansellclearbusiness

outcomesthatencourageincreasedusage(asproveninthePOCstage)ratherthanbroad,vertical-agnostictoolsandlicenses.

Tohelpdrivethisshift,channelleaderscanredefinepartnerengagementrules—withpartnerscloselyinvolvedearlierincodesignandPOCbeforeadealismadeandremainingaccountablethroughadoptionandexpansion.

LaunchadedicatedAIpartnerprogramwithitsowncriteria,tiers,andincentives

TheSaaS-erapartnerprogramrewardedupfrontbookingsandcontractvalue.InAI,value

accruesthroughconsumptionandadoptionovertime.Applyingtheoldincentivestructuretoneweconomicsproducescostlymisalignment.SoftwarecompanychannelleadersmaybuildanewAIprogramtrackfromscratch,addressingshiftsinwhat,how,andwhomtheypayinAI

channelsales.

—Whattopay:Designoffinancialandnonfinancialincentives.Financialincentivesshould

includeshareddevelopmentcosts,dedicatedtechnicalteamstoaccelerateagentbuilds,

andAI-specificSPIFFs(salesperformanceincentivefundformula)andmarketingcampaignfundstiedtoPOCsandpilotscaling.Microsoft’sAICloudPartnerProgram,forinstance,

grantspartnersAzurecredits,productlicenses,andsandboxdevelopmentenvironments,whileAWSoffersgenAIPOCfundingforPOCsexecutedbyvalidatedpartners,typicallycoveringupto10percentofcosts,cappedat$25,000.7

Nonfinancialincentivesmatterjustasmuch,includingfree-to-tryagentswithone-click

deployment,priorityplacementofpartner-builtofferingsonthevendor’smarketplace,and60-dayearlyaccesstonewAIproducts.

—Howtopay:Compensationmodels.Threedominantstructuresareemergingacrossthe

industry,includingup-frontpayoutsatdealclosureforcommittedspend;accrual-based

payoutstorewardongoingconsumptionandexpansion;andhybridacceleratorsthatblendup-frontpayouts,earlyrevenueshare,andusage-basedmilestones.

—Whomtopay:AIprogramentryrequirements.AI-firstprogramsshouldcarrystrict

thresholdstomaintainqualityandcredibility.Oneleadinghyperscalerrequirestop-tierpartnerstatus,multiple“referenceable”productionAIdeploymentswithintheprioryear,

6Pax8Blog,“FY27MicrosoftIncentives:NewCOCPchangesandgrowthopportunities,”July28,2026.

7AbhiiDabas,“AWSfundingforAIpilots:Whatitpaysin2026,”Webpuppies,accessedOctober2026.

Reinventingthechannel:HowcanyourpartnerecosystemfuelAIgrowth?6

rigorousarchitecturereviews(includingresponsibleAIandhallucinationprevention),andadedicatedbenchofcertifiedmachinelearningspecialistsandtrainedengineers.

HarnessAItotransformchannelproductivity

Manychannelorganizationsstillstrugglewithinefficientpartnermanagement,includinglongdealcycles,highsupportoverhead,andunderperformingpartnerrevenue.AIandagentic

workflowsofferthepotentialforastructuralresetthatcanfuelsignificantefficiencygains,

unlockingopportunitiestoimprovewinratesandfocusonhigh-valuegrowthactivities.Acrossmorethan30curatedusecasesspanningsales,marketing,operations,programs,and

enablementthatweassessed,AIhasshownthepotentialtoimproveproductivityby30to45percent.

Theopportunityisnotjustaboutcostreduction;itisaboutfasterpipelinevelocity,higherwinrates,andmoreeffectivepartnerengagement.Salesforce’s2026StateofSalesreportfinds

that40percentofpartnersnowhavefullaccesstocompanyAItools,withafurther55percenthavingpartialaccess—reflectingabroadpushbyvendorstoextendAIcapabilitiesintotheir

partnerecosystems.8

SomevaluableAIusecasesforchannelpartnermanagementcanhaveasignificantimpact,forexample:

—DecisionenginesbasedonAIandlargelanguagemodelscanscoreopportunitiesbyprobabilitytowinandrecommendtheoptimalpartnerarchetype.

—Agentscanbedevelopedtogeneratecontext-specific,hyperpersonalizedproposalsor

salesandmarketingcollateralthatintegratesdirectlyinto“partnerbattlecards.”

—Predictiveforecastingandautogenerateddashboardsoremailfollow-upsonleadscanhelpimprovepartnerperformanceandproductivity.

RevampcapabilitiesinthechannelorganizationforAI

AIdeploymentsareiterative,complex,anddeeplyembeddedincustomerworkflows—andmostfailwithouttherighton-the-groundsupport.Industryresearchfindsthatorganizationsscrap

morethanhalfofAIPOCsbeforetheyreachproduction,while42percentofcompaniesreportabandoningmostoftheirAIinitiatives,upfrom17percentin2024.9

Acriticalorganizationalshiftforsoftwarevendorchannelleadersisthereforebuildingforward-deployedengineering(FDE)capacityatscale.Thisapproachembedsengineersdirectlyinsidecustomeroperationsformonthsatatime,butdoingthisinternallyisexpensiveandhardto

scale.OnepotentialsolutionistotreatFDEcapabilityasaservicethatselectpartnerscandeliveronthevendor’sbehalf.

8AdamAlfano,“40salesstatisticsthatrevealhowteamscansucceedin2026,”Salesforce,February3,2026.

9“ResearchfromLenovofindsAIispayingoff,yetmostCIOsaren’treadyforwhatcomesnext,”Lenovopressrelease,January27,2026;MichaelLansdowneHauge,“EnterpriseAIabandonmentin2025:Why42%walkedaway,”PertamaPartners,updated

June17,2026.

Reinventingthechannel:HowcanyourpartnerecosystemfuelAIgrowth?7

WhatmakestheFDEmodelwork

TheFDEmodelsucceedsbecauseitclosesthegapbetweenexternalproductassumptionsandoperationalreality.FDEsidentifyundocumentedprocesses,legacysystemcomplexities,and

misalignedincentivesthatremoteteamscannotdiscover.

Twocapabilitysetsmakethepartner-enabledversionwork:

—Strategyandarchitecturestayinternal.Channelteamsretainownershipofproblemframing,usecaseprioritization,solutionarchitecture,andvaluearticulation,whichisthe

differentiated,vendor-specificknowledgethatshouldnotbedelegated.

—Executionandembeddingscalethroughpartners.SelectpartnersarecertifiedtoprovideFDE-equivalenton-the-groundpresence:sittinginsidecustomerenvironments,managingdeploymentcycles,troubleshootingintegrations,identifyingnewusecases,anddriving

continuousadoption.

Leadingvendorshavealreadyoperationalizedthismodelwithmeasurableresults.Forexample,SalesforcelauncheditsFDEPartnerNetworkinApril2026withmorethan30firms,includingAccenture,Deloitte,IBMConsulting,andPwC.Bytyingincentivestoagentsreaching

productionratherthandealclosure,Salesforceleveragespartners’globaldeliverycapabilitiesandindustryexpertisetosupportscaleddeploymentandadoption.FDEpartnernetwork

membershavedrivenone-thirdofallsuccessfulAgentforceimplementationstodate.10

Fromchanneltransformationtochanneladvantage

TheshifttoAI-firstchannelmodelsrequiresacomprehensiveoverhaulofhowsoftwareand

techvendorspartner,sell,andmeasuresuccess.Channelorganizationsbuiltforscalecan

transitiontohigh-touch,iterativedeliverymodels.Partnerscanevolvefromresellersto

cobuilders,dependingonup-frontinvestmentandnewfinancialmodels.Andcustomers,manystillearlyintheirAImaturity,canbenefitfrompartnerswhocannavigatepilotstoproductionratherthanjustclosedeals.

Earlymoversthathavealreadysucceededinsuchatransformationhavefollowedasequenceofkeyactions.

—DevelopanAIpartnerprogramacrossthecustomerlifecycle.Organizationscanstartby

investinginaselectsetofhigh-capabilitypartners:decisionplatformplayers,domain

specialists,andAI-nativebuilders.Theycanalsosetaclearnear-termtarget:generate5to

10percentofrevenuesthroughAI-nativepartnershipsandestablishdistinctentrycriteria,

tiering,andincentives.ChannelpartnersaremostcriticalpreciselyatthePOC-to-

productionstage,wheredeployingproofsofvalueatscaledetermineswhetherpilots

becomeprograms.Asaresult,it’skeytoengagethematcodesignandPOCstagesandhold

10“SalesforcelaunchestheforwarddeployedengineeringpartnernetworktoscaleAgentforcesuccess,”Salesforce,April15,2026.

Reinventingthechannel:HowcanyourpartnerecosystemfuelAIgrowth?8

themaccountableforpostdeploymentadoptionandexpansionmilestones,notjusthandoffsatthepointofsale.

—ScaleandoptimizewithAI.Softwareandtechvendorscanidentifytenhigh-impact

workflowswithinchanneloperationsto“agentify,”frompartnersc